Tag: Kingpin

2015 has seen Marvel’s media dominion diversify more than ever. And that’s saying something. But on small and big screen, the conclusion of their Phase Two demonstrates a healthy return to the good old basics of their juggernaut machine. A return to corporate espionage mashed together with some second-chance vigilante justice that’s a tad grey, and not in that old-fashioned SHIELD way – Jokerside turns to Daredevil and Ant-Man. *Spoilers as guaranteed as an end credit teaser*.

Daredevil (Netflix, 2015)

The Devil in Hell’s Kitchen

“I had to choose paths or fate would choose for me”

JOKERSIDE’S ALREADY ADMITTED ITS FONDNESS FOR PREMIER SILVER AGE HERO FLASH OVER AT DC COMICS, AND NOW IT’S TIME TO COME CLEAN ABOUT MARVEL. DAREDEVIL’S ALWAYS BEEN A FAVOURITE. Was it the Frank Miller comics or perhaps his link up with Bill Bixby’s Incredible Hulk? No, apparently it was Marvel Superhero Top Trumps (1988 variety) – one fixed and classic image among the many (64 to be precise) that will always steer Jokerside’s view of the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe.

Or maybe it’s just a red thing.

Whatever, an unmissable adaptation of Daredevil has been a long-time coming. An instantly fascinating character, but an awkward one, Daredevil was Fox’s second big stab at the Marvel machine following X-Men in 1999. But that 2003 film, despite getting a lot more right than people gave it credit for, performed poorly. And that was even before the emergence of the solid Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was packed out with characters from the Daredevil myth including Electra, Kingpin and Bullseye but its lack of success showed how comic book films have always teetered on a razor edge. Although Joe Carnahan’s 70’s pitch at the end of the Fox era was intriguing, it came too late in the game for the rights bods at Fox and the Man without Fear soon found himself back in his home fold. But what could Marvel do with their returning devil?

Downsizing

“This is the part where law meets reality”

Daredevil lends himself to a series, with famous storylines on page, particularly Frank Miller’s stunning runs, doing much to cast him as a compelling character. Beyond the accident, the subsequent blindness, the fierce protection of Hell’s Kitchen, the law and the Catholicism, Daredevil’s far more a product of top creators’ lengthy explorations of how all those elements fit into a tight and claustrophobic universe. He’s certainly not as mass-friendly as Spiderman despite being a mere two years younger than him in publication, and quite easily the ideal choice to spearhead Marvel’s charge on Netflix.

Daredevil knows just when and when not to comply with the Marvel universe. Ant-Man’s heist structure is a good example of the studio’s ‘genre’ approach to their films, a tack that’s served them brilliantly, particularly through Phase 2. If anything Daredevil thematically responds to legendary 1970s films of New York, from Scorsese to Friedkin, in setting out a grittier and defiantly earth-bound hero amid the phase that set out Marvel’s extra-terrestrial agenda. That was unavoidable, especially after Carnahan’s speculative sizzle reel.

Alleyways

“This district is changing”

Most importantly Daredevil plays very well to the small screen budget. The climax of the second episode Cut Man with its brilliantly orchestrated corridor take-down of Russian henchmen, who keep coming back for more against this quite human vigilante, shows that at its best. Just think how this is going to pan out with The Punisher’s entrance just round the corner…